Taco Bell Debuts $2 Menu

Photo from Taco BellToday Taco Bell introduces its new $2 Meal Deals, which includes: A choice of one of four taco or burrito entrees, a medium soft drink, and a bag of Doritos ...

Call me elitist, but I'm calling BS on this marketing ploy: One low-quality taco, one cup of watered-down sugar water, and one bag of chips aren't in any way, shape, or form a "meal."

Yes, the down economy has hit people hard, and diners are clamoring for cheap eats. But just because you can buy something for $2 doesn't mean you should.

In the case of the Beefy 5-Layer Burrito (one of the featured entrees included in the deal), $2 gets you 550 calories, 22 grams of fat, and 1,640 mg of sodium -- and that's before the chips and soda! You know what? Looking at it this way, $2 seems high to me! Why would you spend any of your hard-earned money on low-quality crap with practically zero nutritional value?

Especially knowing that you'll just be hungry one hour later, or worse, have health problems down the line if you make this a habit -- Taco Bell's $2 menu seems like a giant ripoff to me. I'd rather spend my two bucks on something more balanced and substantial -- a meal replacement bar or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The worst part about this fast food "meal" deal? It's going to be major competition for other fast food chains, which will no doubt retaliate with even cheaper, crappier deals. Fast food is already cheap; instead of demanding that the restaurants offer less expensive food, why not demand that they provide healthier options for those of us who care about what goes into our bodies and still need to grab-and-go?